A New Kind of Mom
by Mamasharon7
Summary: One-shot. Sharon adopted Rusty as a five-year-old, not a teenager.
1. Chapter 1

Sharon woke with a start late Sunday night and looked at her clock. It was 2:00, and she could hear five-year-old Rusty whimpering through the baby monitor. She had put the monitor in his room not long after she adopted him so she could hear him if he woke up at night. She waited a few moments, and when the whimpering didn't stop, Sharon got up and went to his room. The lamp on his nightstand was on, and he was standing in front of his dresser and digging through one of his drawers. She briefly wondered if he was sleepwalking, but he looked up at her when she softly called his name, and the tears increased. "Rusty! What's the matter?" She wasn't wearing her glasses, so she didn't see what the problem was at first. As she walked slowly toward him, she saw the tell-tale wet stains on the front of his pajama pants that spread down his legs, which could only mean one thing. She looked at his bed, and the darkened spot on his sheets confirmed that he'd wet the bed. Seeing that Sharon had realized what he'd done, Rusty cowered into the corner of his room beside his dresser, watching Sharon with frightened eyes.

"Uh-oh, honey, you had a little accident," Sharon said softly. She smiled at him, hoping to assure him that she wasn't angry. This was the first time Rusty had wet his bed since he started living with her, but she had expected it to happen at some point. Hell, Ricky had wet the bed off and on until he was twelve. "It's okay, honey, let's get you cleaned up and into some dry jams." Sharon said this as cheerfully as she could manage at 2:00 in the morning. She slowly approached Rusty, and his whimpers increased with each approaching step.

"Rusty, honey, it's okay. I know you didn't do it on purpose. Accidents happen to everyone. I still wet the bed sometimes when I was your age, and so did Ricky and Emily." Sharon knelt in front of Rusty and took his hands in hers. He regarded her warily, and she hadn't seen this look on his face since the first couple of weeks he'd lived with her and didn't yet trust that she wouldn't hurt him.

"I went pee-pee before bed, Sharon, I promise!" Rusty sobbed. "I didn't know I had to go. I just woke up, and I was all wet!" Sharon sighed. He had been calling her 'Sharon' less and less and 'Mommy' more and more, but she understood that he thought she was upset with him.

"I know you did, honey. I'm not angry, I promise. This is not a big deal, and you are not in trouble." Sharon pulled him closer to her and wrapped him in a warm embrace, not caring that her nightgown was getting wet. She kissed his forehead when she felt him shudder against her.

"You're not mad?"

"Of course not. It's not your fault, this just happens sometimes. But, if it happens again, come wake me up, okay?" Sharon put her hands on Rusty's cheeks and wiped his tears with her thumbs.

Rusty nodded. His sobs were starting to die down. "My old mommy used to hit me if I wet my bed," he whispered.

"Oh, sweetheart, I will never punish you for that. It was just an accident. Even if you forget to go pee-pee before bed, because, sometimes, that just happens, too. Come on, I need to give you a quick bath."

Sharon lifted Rusty with ease and carried him to the bathroom. The cold wetness from his pajamas was transferring to her nightgown, but she ignored it. She started running the bathwater and knelt to peel Rusty's soaked pajamas and underpants off of him. He put his hands on her shoulders to balance himself, and Sharon could see that he was shaking. She hugged him for a few moments before lifting him into the bathtub. She put some soap on a washcloth and gently bathed him, careful not to go too fast. She was ready to get back in bed, but she didn't want Rusty to think that she was at all upset with him. She had slowly been teaching him to bathe himself, but, since he was so upset, she wanted to coddle him a little bit. A few minutes later, she got him out of the tub and dried him off.

"All right, sweetie, why don't you try to go pee-pee, just to make sure you're all done, while I get you some clean pjs?" Rusty nodded and turned toward the toilet as Sharon left the room. She quickly changed her nightgown and grabbed some clean underpants and pajamas for Rusty from a stack of folded laundry in her room. She knelt in front of him and held his underpants open so he could step into them, then did the same with his pajama pants. Once she'd pulled his pajama top over his head, he reached up for her to hold him. His nose was running a little bit, so Sharon picked him up, got some Kleenex from the back of the toilet, and held them to his nose. His nose had started running the day before, but he had seemed fine otherwise and hadn't complained. He obediently blew into them as she carried him into the living room. She wiped around his nose with the clean edges of the tissue and threw it away before sitting down in the rocking chair. She had gotten it out of storage when Rusty came to live with her. She had rocked her children any time they were upset or sick until they were physically too big for her to do so, and she wanted to do the same with Rusty.

"We'll rock for a little bit, and then you can sleep in my bed with me. I'll take care of your sheets in the morning. How does that sound?" Rusty nodded, but a downcast expression came over his face again.

"But...What if I...I mean..."

"Have another accident? It's almost morning time, honey, I don't think that will be a problem. But, if it happens, then I'll just wash my sheets, too. I was going to change the sheets on both of our beds sometime this week, anyway, so I'll just get a head start." Rusty seemed to relax a tiny bit. "I know you're upset, honey, but please try not to worry about this. There is a protective covering on both of our mattresses, because I expected this to happen every now and then, and I expected you to want to sleep with me every now and then. All I have to do is wash your sheets tomorrow, and you know that doesn't take long. They'll be as good as new. I don't even have to clean the mattress."

Rusty nodded again and let himself relax a bit more. Sharon placed his head on her shoulder and scratched his back as she rocked him.

"I love you, sweetheart," she murmured, kissing his forehead.

"You too, Mommy," Rusty said, drowsily. He snuggled into Sharon's shoulder, loving the softness of her gown and her familiar smell. Her arms were wrapped tightly around him, and he had never felt so loved and protected before. He found sleep again pretty easily. Sharon got up and carried him into her room, tucked him into her bed, and climbed in beside him. She held him close to her as she fell asleep, and he unconsciously nuzzled against her.

Sharon woke up before her alarm on Monday morning with her arm around Rusty, who was pressed into her side. She looked down at him and frowned when she realized he felt warmer against her than he should. His little cheeks were flushed, and he sounded like he was congested. She held her hand to his forehead, confirming that he was running a fever. Her alarm went off a couple of minutes later, waking Rusty.

"Mommy, I don't feel good," Rusty whimpered, snuggling into Sharon.

"I can tell, honey. You don't look so good." Sharon felt his forehead again. "You have a fever. What hurts?"

"My head and my throat and my nose. What's a fever?"

"When you don't feel good, it means there are germs in your body. Your body heats itself up to kill the germs so you'll feel better, and that makes your forehead feel warm. That's why I felt your forehead a minute ago. It felt warm, and that's how I know you have a fever."

"Oh...I guess my old mommy didn't know how to do that." He thought for a minute. "Did you already know I was sick last night? I wondered what you were doing."

Sharon smiled. "You were lying around all afternoon and seemed to have the sniffles, which isn't like you. I touched your forehead to see if you felt warm, but you didn't, so I didn't think anything else of it. It sounds like you've caught a cold. I'll be right back, okay?" Sharon went to the kitchen for the children's Tylenol and a sippy cup of juice. The thermometer was nowhere to be found. She sat on her bed and carefully poured some Tylenol into a spoon. Rusty eyed it warily.

"What's that?"

"It's medicine. It will help you feel better...Have you never taken medicine before?" Rusty shook his head. It was a good thing Sharon Beck was in jail, where Sharon couldn't track her down and beat her to a pulp. "It might not taste too good, but the juice will take the taste away." Rusty obediently opened his mouth for the Tylenol and took a few sips of juice.

"Not so bad, huh? I'm going to change clothes really quick, and we need to run to my work for just a few minutes. Then we'll come back and watch a movie."

"I don't have to go to kindergarten?"

"Of course not. You can't go to school when you don't feel good. You won't feel like doing anything, and you might get the other kids sick." Sharon changed into jeans and a sweater while Rusty brushed his teeth, quickly washed up, and applied minimal makeup. Rusty had lay back down while she was finishing getting dressed, so she quickly put the pottied-in pajamas and sheets from the night before in a basin to soak for a while before she washed them. She let Rusty stay in his pajamas and put some socks and shoes on him and carried him down to her car.

When she arrived in the murder room, she wasn't expecting anyone to be there, as it was still pretty early. Amy and Provenza were there, though, catching up on paperwork. They both looked up as she came in carrying Rusty, who was lying drowsily against her shoulder.

"Morning, Captain...Aww, is someone sick?" Amy asked, standing up and ruffling Rusty's hair. He nodded miserably.

"Yes, I believe it's just a cold, but he has a bit of a fever. I'm keeping him home from school, but I needed to grab some things to work on at home. Rusty? Can you sit with Miss Amy while I get some things from my office?" Rusty shook his head, tightening his grip on Sharon. "Come on, honey, you like Amy. I'll only be a few minutes, I promise." Sharon gently pried Rusty's arms from around her neck and handed him to Amy. "I'll be right back," Sharon said softly and kissed his forehead. Rusty whimpered, but settled comfortably against Amy's shoulder.

When Sharon returned less than ten minutes later, Rusty was asleep. "Amy? Since he's sleeping, would you mind if I leave him here and run to the pharmacy down the street? I couldn't find my thermometer at home, and I need a few other sick day supplies, too."

"Sure, Captain. We'll be fine," Amy looked fondly down at Rusty. When Sharon returned thirty minutes later, he was still sleeping peacefully against Amy's shoulder, showing no signs of waking. Sharon gently took him from Amy and settled him against her shoulder.

"Thanks, Amy. Lieutenant, I'll check in with you guys this afternoon."

"Don't worry, Captain, we've got it covered."

When they got home, Sharon put some pillows, sheets, and blankets on the couch while Rusty looked through the DVR recordings for a movie. Sharon had recorded several over the last few months that she thought he would enjoy. He was starting to perk up a little from the Tylenol. He lay in Sharon's lap and watched The Lion King while she sifted through some paperwork. When that was over, Sharon put her work aside for the time being and got Rusty a popsicle while he found another movie to watch. She put Rusty's wet laundry in the washing machine, then put together the ingredients for clam chowder and joined Rusty on the couch once the soup was cooking on the stove. She lay on her side against the back of the couch and settled Rusty in front of her, cuddled against her.

"Why didn't my old mommy ever do any of this for me?" Rusty asked.

"I don't know, honey," Sharon said, sadly. She brushed Rusty's hair out of his eyes and put her hand on his flushed cheek. "She just didn't know how to take care of you. That's why I adopted you, and you live with me now."

"I'm glad you know how to take care of me. You're really good at it."

"Aww, thank you, sweetheart." Sharon kissed his warm forehead. "I'm glad I'm helping you feel better." They lay on the couch and watched Mulan, and when it was over, it was lunchtime. Once they had eaten, Sharon could tell that the Tylenol had worn off. Rusty was more sluggish, and his cheeks were more flushed. She got the thermometer and Tylenol from the kitchen.

"Are you feeling yucky again?" Sharon asked, pulling Rusty into her lap. Rusty nodded and rested his head on her shoulder. Sharon pressed her hand to his forehead. "Your fever went up a little bit."

"How do you know? Does my head feel warmer?"

"Yes. You are so smart," Sharon said, affectionately. She picked up the thermometer.

"What's that?"

"A thermometer. It tells me how high your temperature is. If it gets too high, that means you're really sick and I have to take you to the doctor. I don't think it's too high, but I just need to check. I'm going to hold it under your tongue, and you can't open your mouth until it beeps." Rusty watched in fascination as the numbers climbed higher. When it beeped, Sharon pulled it out of his mouth and checked it, relieved that it was fairly low.

"I want to see." Sharon held the thermometer where Rusty could see it. "one-oh-oh-six. What does that mean?"

"When you're not sick, your temperature is 98.6. Your temperature is two degrees higher than it should be. I wouldn't take you to the doctor unless it was at least 102, though, or if you still had a fever after a couple of days."

"So, I'm just a little bit sick?"

"Something like that. But you need to tell me if you start feeling worse, okay?" Rusty nodded, and opened his mouth for the spoonful of Tylenol Sharon was now holding up.

"Why don't we read a little bit from Tom Sawyer?" Sharon suggested. When Rusty learned to read and could read small books by himself, Sharon stopped reading those to him at bedtime and started reading to him from versions of chapter books that had been recrafted for elementary-aged readers. She gathered the book, his teddy bear, and a blanket and settled in the rocking chair with Rusty in her lap. He loved for her to read to him, and he loved it even more now that he was sick.

After reading a couple of chapters, Sharon could tell that Rusty was getting sleepy. She closed the book and turned him to face her, and he sleepily lay down on her shoulder. She hummed softly and scratched his back as she rocked him to sleep, and ended up falling asleep for a little while, herself.

Once Sharon woke up, she couldn't bring herself to put Rusty down. He looked so comfortable lying against her, and she had always loved the feeling of the warm weight of a sleeping child in her arms. She checked in with her team and read on her iPad while Rusty continued to sleep on her shoulder. He woke up a couple of hours later, shivering.

"I'm cold," he mumbled, snuggling more deeply into Sharon. She tightened the blanket around him and tenderly felt his forehead.

"Uh-oh, honey, your fever's gone up." She took his temperature and fed him a spoonful of Tylenol after getting a reading of 101.5. She held him tightly and rocked him, trying to warm him up.

After dinner that night, Sharon bathed Rusty and put him in some fresh pajamas. She settled him in her bed and read to him for a little while before tucking him in. She lay beside him and scratched his back until he fell asleep, then got up to clean the kitchen and get some work done. She went to sleep a couple of hours later, holding her feverish son as close to her as she could.

On Tuesday morning, Sharon woke up to Rusty tapping her face. "Mommy, I feel yuckier," Rusty pouted when she finally opened her eyes. Sharon's hand went straight to his forehead. "Oh, sweetheart, you're burning up." She held the thermometer under his tongue, sighing softly when it flashed a reading of 102.7. "All right, honey, I believe it's time to take you to the doctor. Your fever's pretty high."

"But I'm cold," Rusty whined.

"High fevers make you feel cold. I know, it doesn't make sense." Sharon gave him some Tylenol and went to the kitchen to call his pediatrician's office.

Early that afternoon, Sharon sat in an exam room in Dr. Kirkland's office, holding a drowsy Rusty in her lap. The nurse took his temperature and blood pressure and promised that the doctor would be there soon. Rusty buried his face in Sharon's shoulder when Dr. Kirkland came in. Sharon tried to pry him away from her so she could sit him on the exam table, but he had an iron grip around her neck.

"It's okay, Sharon. You can sit on the exam table and hold him in your lap." Sharon situated herself on the exam table and managed to turn Rusty around to face the doctor. "Hi, Rusty," she greeted brightly. "I hear you're not feeling too good today." Rusty shook his head. "Can you tell me what hurts?" He shook his head again.

Sharon spoke up. "He started running a low fever yesterday morning, and he complained of a sore throat, headache, and runny nose. His temperature shot up this morning, and he started complaining that his face was hurting."

"Hmmm...Sounds like a mean old sinus infection to me. I'll give you some medicine that tastes really good and you'll feel better in a couple of days. But, I need to look in your nose and throat to make sure nothing else is going on, okay?" Rusty shook his head and cowered into Sharon.

"Rusty, honey, Dr. Kirkland is just going to look. It won't hurt, I promise." Rusty reluctantly allowed the doctor to examine him, his fingernails digging into Sharon's arms the whole time. Once they were home with prescriptions for an antibiotic and a decongestant, Sharon gave Rusty his medicine and settled in the rocking chair with him. The trip to the doctor had worn him out. Sharon felt his forehead and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, sweetheart."

"You too, Mommy. My old mommy never held me like this." Sharon blinked back tears as she rocked him to sleep, scratching his back, and they both napped for the better part of the afternoon.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Y'all. This was my first fanfic ever, and I was blown away from the feedback! The reviews and direct messages I received convinced me to write a second chapter, but this fic is complete for real this time. Thanks so much for the views/reviews/favorites/follows/direct messages!**_

For dinner Tuesday night, Sharon warmed up leftover soup for herself and Rusty. He was still sleeping in her arms at 5:30, so she laid him on the couch and covered him with a blanket while she changed into more comfortable clothes, cleaned up, and got dinner ready. When the soup was ready, she carried two bowls of soup and a tray to the coffee table. She sat on the couch beside Rusty, got some tissues from the box on the coffee table, and gently shook his shoulder. "Rusty? Wake up, sweetheart."

"Noooo," Rusty whined, burrowing under the covers.

"Come on, honey. It's time for dinner, and you won't be able to sleep tonight if you don't get up now. We can eat right here, you don't have to come to the table." Sharon pulled the blanket off of Rusty and helped him sit up. His eyes looked tired and glassy, and his cheeks were still flushed. Sharon put her hands on his cheeks and kissed his forehead. He still felt hot, but a little less so than before he'd fallen asleep. "Here, honey, blow your nose." Rusty obeyed when Sharon held the tissues to his nose.

"It hurts, Mommy."

"I know, baby. The medicine will help you feel better soon."

Rusty got off of the couch, needing to use the bathroom after his three-hour nap, while Sharon got a glass of water for herself and a cup of juice for Rusty. When he came back a few minutes later, she gave him his antibiotic and put the tray in his lap. "This is the same tray I used when Emily and Ricky still lived at home and were sick," she told him as she carefully placed his soup and juice on the tray. "Actually, not long before you came to live with me, Emily came to visit for a couple of weeks and got sick while she was here. I used it then, too."

Rusty looked at Sharon in disbelief. "But she's _big_!"

"You're never too big for your mommy to take care of you, honey. I thought that would probably be the last time I got to take care of one of my babies, and that's my favorite thing about being a mommy. I had no idea I would have you just a couple of months later!"

"You _like_ taking care of me? I thought you just had to because you're a mommy."

"I don't like it when you don't feel good, but I do like that you want me to hold you and will let me do little things for you that you normally do yourself." Rusty ate in thoughtful silence. He'd only eaten half of his soup before he didn't want anymore. "You don't have to eat anymore if you don't want it," Sharon told him when she sensed his reluctance to keep eating.

"Thanks," Rusty murmured. He wordlessly passed his bowl to Sharon. Her bowl was already empty, and he had learned the night before that being sick meant he didn't have to take his dishes to the sink after dinner.

"Do you want something else to eat, or are you just not hungry?"

"Not hungry."

"Does your tummy hurt?"

Rusty shook his head. "It just doesn't want anymore food."

Sharon laughed and kissed his forehead. "That's okay. Let me know if you get hungry again. There's still some soup left, or I can make you some cereal or a sandwich or whatever you want."

"Thanks, Mommy."

"You're welcome, baby." Sharon put their bowls in the sink to take care of after Rusty was in bed and went back to the couch. "I'll go ahead and give you a bath, and then we can watch a movie until bedtime." Rusty looked ready to protest, so Sharon held her hands out to him, and he instinctively reached for her. "Come on, I'll be fast, and I know you're ready to get into some warm pjs."

Once Rusty was bathed and in his pajamas, Sharon took him to the kitchen to give him some Tylenol. She placed him on the counter in the kitchen while she got his juice from dinner and measured some Tylenol into a spoon. "Here, sweetie." She held one hand under the spoon to catch any spills as she fed him the medicine with the other. Rusty took a few sips of juice and reached for Sharon to pick him up. "Come on, sweet boy. Do you want me to rock you?" Rusty nodded. Sharon rescued his teddy bear from between the couch cushions, sat in the rocking chair, and covered him with a blanket. She found a movie for him, but he wasn't paying much attention. He snuggled into her, cozy in the warmth of her arms and the blanket, and pressed his head into her shoulder.

"Does your head hurt?" Rusty nodded. Sharon felt his forehead and lightly stroked her fingers back and forth. "You still feel a little hot, but the Tylenol should help your fever and your headache. I talked to Nana while you were sleeping earlier, and she and Granddad are going to FaceTime you in a little bit."

Rusty brightened at the prospect, but then his face fell. "Do they know that I, um..."

"That you're sick? Yes, that's why Nana called me today. I told her yesterday that you had stayed home sick from school, and she wanted to know how you were feeling today."

"No, not that, um...Do they know I pee-peed in my bed?" He whispered, looking panicked.

Sharon struggled to choke down a laugh. "No, honey, of course not. It wasn't even worth mentioning. It wasn't a big deal, but I know how badly it embarrassed you, so I would never say anything about it. I promise, no one will ever know but you and me." Sharon put her hand on Rusty's cheek and studied him closely. "Can you show Mommy where your head hurts, or does it just hurt all over?"

"Right here." Rusty pointed to the middle of his forehead.

"That's because your sinuses are all yucky." Sharon cradled Rusty in her arms and rubbed small circles on his forehead.

"That feels good. You're really good at being a mommy."

Sharon choked up for a different reason this time. "Thanks, sweetheart. I think that's the best compliment I've ever gotten."

"Was Nana a good mommy?"

"Oh, she was the best. She's the one who taught me how to be a good mommy." They rocked in silence for a little while, with the noise of the TV in the background. "Are you warm enough? Do you want another blanket?"

"I'm okay."

"Does your head still hurt?"

"Not as bad."

Sharon's phone started going off, so she paused the movie. "Look, honey, it's Nana and Granddad!" Rusty sat up and eagerly waited for the call to connect. Sharon's mother's face soon appeared on the screen. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Sharon," she answered quickly. "Rusty! Hi, sweetheart! You still don't look like you feel too good."

Rusty shook his head. "Mommy makes me feel better, though. She said you taught her how to be a good mommy."

Sharon's mom chuckled. "I suppose I did."

Sharon was about to ask where her dad was when she heard him in the background. He soon appeared beside Sharon's mom. "Hi, Dad!"

"Hi, baby! You doing okay? Hi, Rusty! Is Mommy taking good care of you?"

"See how that works, Mom? Dad can greet his children and grandchildren with _equal_ enthusiasm."

"Oh, please. Leave the whining to the sick five-year-old who actually has a _reason_ to whine."

"How's the patient?" Sharon's dad interrupted.

Sharon put her hand on Rusty's forehead. "His fever's gone down a little bit, but he's still not feeling good. The antibiotics should kick in tomorrow, though, and his decongestant has helped a little bit."

They talked for a few more minutes before Sharon's mom ended the call. "We'll let you guys go, Rusty looks like he's getting tired. Feel better, honey. We love you."

"Love you," Rusty murmured.

"Love you guys." Sharon ended the call and put her phone down.

Rusty looked up at Sharon with tired eyes. "Is it time for me to go to bed yet?"

"Oh, honey. I know you're feeling bad if you're asking to go to bed!" Sharon looked at her watch. It was 7:15. "There's only thirty minutes of this movie left. Let's finish it, and then I'll tuck you in, okay?"

Rusty nodded. "Am I sleeping with you again?"

"I was planning for you to, since you still don't feel good, but you can sleep in your bed if you want to."

"I want to sleep with with you. Your bed smells like you."

Sharon smiled and kissed his forehead. "My bed it is, then."

When the movie was over, and Rusty was ready for bed, Sharon gave him his medicine, read to him for a little while, and rocked him to sleep. Once he was tucked into her bed, she cleaned the kitchen and worked for a little bit before climbing in bed beside him. She sipped a glass of wine and read for a little bit before turning her lamp off and pulling Rusty close to her, ready to fall asleep for the night.

A few hours after falling asleep, Sharon felt Rusty disentangle himself from her arms and get out of bed. Assuming he was going to the bathroom, she didn't think anything of it until he hadn't returned after a few minutes, and she began to wonder if she should check on him. When she heard him tearfully calling for her from the bathroom, she quickly got out of bed and entered the bathroom. "What's the matter, honey?" Sharon squinted against the bright light of the bathroom. Rusty was on the toilet, but nothing seemed to be amiss.

"My tummy hurts," Rusty whimpered.

"Oh, baby. The antibiotic must have made your stomach upset." Sharon knelt beside the toilet and put her hand on Rusty's shoulder. "Take your time, sweetie. I'll give you some tummy medicine in a few minutes if it still hurts."

"I'm done now," Rusty whispered a few minutes later.

"Does your tummy still hurt?"

Rusty shrugged. "Not really."

Sharon cleaned him up, a task she was only doing for him because he wasn't feeling well, flushed the toilet, pulled his pants up for him, and helped him wash his hands before washing her own. "I'll give you some more medicine before you go back to sleep." She picked him up and carried him to the kitchen. Rusty lay weakly on her shoulder, and Sharon felt his forehead as she walked down the hall. He needed more Tylenol, and she gave him another dose of his decongestant as well. "All right. Back to bed. Does your tummy feel okay to go back to sleep?" Rusty nodded and lay back on her shoulder, but started whimpering when Sharon laid him down in her bed.

"It hurts my nose to lie down," Rusty whined.

"Okay, honey." Sharon helped Rusty blow his nose, propped a couple of pillows up behind her, and situated Rusty against her so that he was lying on her, but inclined. "Is this better?" Rusty nodded drowsily. Sharon rubbed his back and ran her fingers through his hair as he drifted off on her shoulder. Wanting to make sure he was warm enough, she tightened the covers around them before falling asleep again, herself. She didn't wake up again until close to 9:00, and Rusty was patting her face.

"Mommy! Mommy, I feel better now."

Sharon found Rusty's forehead with her hand without even opening her eyes. "You don't have much of a fever," she agreed, stifling a yawn. She sat up and studied Rusty, relieved that he looked much better than the night before. "Are you hungry?" He nodded. "Waffles?" He nodded more enthusiastically. "All right. You can stay in here or come lie down on the couch while I cook."

"Wanna stay in here. It's warm."

"Okay. I'll come get you when breakfast is ready."

After breakfast, Sharon gave Rusty his medicine and carried him to the living room. She was trying to decide whether he still wanted her to hold him when he interrupted her deliberation. "Will you lie down on the couch with me, like you did the other day?"

"Sure, honey." Sharon found something on TV for Rusty to watch and lay down on the couch with him spooned in front of her. She spread a blanket over them and wrapped her arm around him.

"When can I go back to school?"

Sharon looked down at Rusty and brushed his bangs back from his forehead. "You still have a fever, so it won't be tomorrow. If you don't have a fever tomorrow and are feeling better, you may be able to go back on Friday. We'll have to wait and see how you're feeling. Are you missing your friends?"

"Yeah...I like being here with you too, though. It feels good when you hold me."

"You don't have to be sick for me to hold you, sweetheart. I'll gladly hold you any time."

"Hmm." Rusty snuggled into Sharon, enjoying the fact that he finally had a mother who actually took care of him. Sharon ran her fingers through his hair, occasionally feeling his forehead, and enjoyed the fact that she had a child to take care of and give her life purpose again. She still couldn't believe it, sometimes. Despite constantly wiping Rusty's nose, the linens on the couch and her bed were prime candidates for a bleach advertisement, but she couldn't care less.

"I love you, sweet boy." Sharon kissed Rusty's warm forehead and stroked her fingers over his flushed cheek. "So much."


	3. Chapter 3

I'm so sorry to do this as a new chapter, but I needed to respond to a guest review. As far as I know, there's no private way to do that. It's taking a while for the guest reviews to show up on this site, but I'm getting the emails as soon as they're left, so I copy and pasted it, since it can't be seen here yet.

From: Guest

:Quite enjoying this little fic and congratulations on posting your first story!  
I'm not saying this to upset you, but I hate that you, like other writers, here seem to think the only value of a woman is to look after children. You obviously have not really watched major crimes otherwise you would probably know that Sharon does actually have a job other than taking care of her children and that she doesn't derive her value from that. It's very out of character for Sharon.

"...and enjoyed the fact that she had a child to take care of and give her life purpose again."

-  
Before anyone accuses me of not being able to handle criticism, consider that this was my first fanfic, so of course I expected criticism. What I didn't expect was such absurd criticism. I'm new to writing fanfic, but I'm not new to Major Crimes. The MC writers refuse to give Sharon's character any depth, so no one actually knows whether this was "very out of character."

The purpose of the last line was to end the story in a sweet way. Not to say that Sharon's only worth as a woman is as a mother. It was inspired by the lines in the episode with the adoption where Rusty says something to Sharon like "But you have to get something out of all of this, too," (referring to adopting him) and she answers, "I am." It also came from hearing recent empty-nesters (single parents, in particular, who now come home from their good careers at night to a truly empty house) talking about how they don't like the fact that they don't feel needed anymore because their children are gone. This feeling comes from the fact that they had been parents for so long, and no longer having children at home is an adjustment. For both moms and dads. Before Rusty, when Sharon worked in FID all day and her job caused many officers not to like her, then went home to an empty condo every night, she had to feel sad and alone sometimes. If she had never had children, she wouldn't have known anything different, but having children, having them grow up and move away from home, and then rescuing a child from a bad situation would make a man or a woman feel more purposeful.

While I could have worded it better, or just left it out completely, which I would have done if I had known it would be interpreted in such an extreme way, this did not come from a sexist mentality. It irritates me when people try to create sexism where it doesn't exist (I know it exists in some instances, but this isn't one of them). I was thinking of Sharon as a parent, in general, when I was writing this. Not "as a woman, so aside from being a mother, she's worthless." As for the "other writers" mentioned in the review, I'm at a loss for what this person is talking about. Some of the other fics are mothership-heavy, but we see so little of that on the show, and Sharon and Rusty aren't the typical mother-son duo, so there are many different aspects of their relationship that can be explored in so many different ways. I like the mothership stories because they're what I call "comfort reading." Of course, Sharon has much value other than being a mother, but her motherly side is the aspect of her that some people like to explore, and I see nothing wrong with that. She's motherly because she's a mother. Not just because she's a woman.


	4. Chapter 4

Again, I'm really sorry to do this as a chapter update, and I promise I won't do it again. When necessary, I'll respond to member reviews privately and guest reviews in the reviews. For some reason, it's been taking several days for reviews to post, and I wanted to make sure you all saw this, because

Y'all. Are. AWESOME.

I almost deleted this fic. Again, not because I can't handle criticism, but because I thought something had to have gone horribly wrong with my writing if someone could (reasonably) construe anything I've written as "sexism." Before my last update, I was planning to delete my first, and decidedly last, fanfic, but y'all encouraged me to leave it up and to try another story at some point in the future. You're right, every story will have someone who has to find something to complain about. That has got to be a hard way to get through life. I'm far from being a sexist person, plenty of people let me know that they enjoyed the story, and that's all I need to know. Again, THANK YOU!

And, thank you to the reviewer who prompted the Chapter 3 post for the extra favorites, follows, and reviews you got for me :). Hope you are well.


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